


Of Frost & Light

by magicianofesperance



Series: Chat Noir's Miraculous Atelier [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/F, F/M, Gen, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Saturnalia, Solstice, Winter, Winter Solstice, Witchcraft, Yule, Yuletide, magick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28219437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianofesperance/pseuds/magicianofesperance
Summary: The Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year is a time to celebrate peace, love, comfort and joy. Our favourite local Parisians come take a visit to the Couffaine Houseboat on the night of the winter solstice and partake in a particularly magickal evening of witchcraft culture on the day of yule.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Luka Couffaine, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant
Series: Chat Noir's Miraculous Atelier [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020100
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: December 2020 - Advent Calendar





	Of Frost & Light

**Author's Note:**

> _“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”_

Footsteps. Floorboards creaking. Near pitch darkness, only illuminated by the faint candlelight. The aroma of a damp salty breeze. Swaying, endless swaying to and fro, dizzying from the lack of sea legs. From the portholes, the bright blue street lamps barely visible from the thick walls of winter fog. It was the Winter Solstice, and they had no choice but to follow Luka through the houseboat, strumming away at his guitar.

Luka stopped, halting the group behind him.

Chloé leaned up to Luka’s ear, “I’m just letting you know, if I didn’t like you so much, I would’ve already called my daddy-kins.”

Luka turned to her, their crystal blue gazes connecting. “My feisty melody, it’s all a part of the experience.”

Marinette grabbed Adrien’s hand for comfort and stability as the boat began to sway again.

Luka opened the door, light flooding into the hallway. “After you,” Luka said.

Chloé huffed. “Where is that hot chocolate I was promised? I am freezing because of this ridiculous weather.”

“A little chill didn’t kill anyone, sweetheart,” Anarka cooed, handing her a steaming mug.

Chloé stared wide-eyed at her. “I’m so sorry, Madame Couffaine!”

She let out a hardy laugh. “It’s alright, dear.”

“Thanks, Luka,” Marinette said with a smile. Adrien blushed, stepping in after Marinette. 

As they walked in what appeared to be Juleka’s bedroom, they were astounded at what a spectacle it was. It felt like walking straight into a punk witch’s room. Juleka had a bright smile across her face, her hair pinned back with the aid of a few clips and a Santa hat. “We’re so glad you guys could make it this evening!” “Hey, guys.”

“Oh, bless’d be,” Mylène whispered, standing up from her chair, “you all have finally arrived.”

Anarka looked out at the dark hallway. “Couldn’t you have turned on the light, Luka?”

“Oh, we just like being edgy,” he replied.

She shook her head. “I swear, you kids sometimes.”

Across the table in front of her was an assortment of treasures from Mylène’s, Juleka’s, and even some of Luka’s craft. Decks of tarot cards were scattered in odd formation, runes with symbols unfamiliar to anyone except the witch themself, astral charts and lunar calendars, three leatherback books of shadows, and quite notably, crystals. Lots and lots of crystals in a myriad of colours. 

Juleka hunched down next to Rose, sitting atop of a large purple bean bag chair beside her. “It’s always nice to celebrate a good old-fashioned Christmas. And I don’t mean like, 1950s, I mean, like, Pre-Christianity- um, Saturnalia.”

Chloé raised her brow. “That sounds a little ancient, if you ask me, and mind you I consider two seasons ago ancient.”

“All these people have a so-called ‘war on Christmas,’ wanting to put the  _ ‘Christ back in Christmas,’ _ ” Mylene threw her hair back with an eye roll. “Well, starlight, I say it was never there in the first place!” Mylène all began to cackle, Juleka and Luka snickering behind.

Marinette raised up her arms, “I think you guys are going a little above our heads here.”

Nino blinked. “Yeah, I am confused, dudes. When I heard we were gonna be doing magic, I thought we were going to do Pottermore quizzes.”

“Oh no, sorry for the confusion,” Juleka said, trying to stop herself from giggling.

“I mean, we can still do that later, you muggle,” Mylène flashed a smile at him. “Luka, you’re good at explaining the basics, if you may?”

“Yeah, for sure, Mylène. Sometimes magick can be quite simple,” Luka said, strumming a few chords on his guitar. “It can be singing a song with a wish or intention in mind. I feel the most common wish is just good luck.”

Adrien began to pet Plagg in his pocket, whispering to him, “Boy, I wish I knew I could have known  _ that _ years ago.” 

Plagg tried to keep himself from laughing. “Do you really think a teenager singing a song can fight the power of an aeons-old camembert-guzzling mini-god that is the literal embodiment of destruction and misfortune?”

“Watch it, my kwami. The only thing that separates you from your camembert is my bank account.”

Plagg gasped. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Content with himself, Adrien focused his attention back on the room.

“Wait, so if Juleka and Mylène are witches,” Nino raised his eyebrow towards Luka, “are you a wizard then?”

Luka smiled, raising his hand to infer to stop. “Gender or sex is no difference to what makes a witch or wizard, but rather how they practice their magic.”

Nino scooted in closer, trying to discreetly make it so only Luka could hear. “So, uh, how  _ do I _ become a wizard?”

Juleka shook her head. “I hear there’s a free trial on Wizard101, if you’re interested.”

_ “Jambo, young wizard,” _ Mylène mimicked in a soft voice.

Luka nearly snorted. “Mylène, Jules, don’t toy with him.”

Juleka raised her brow. “Sometimes look at you and I wonder, ‘how can someone be such a perfect big brother?’”

Luka was taken aback. “Aw thank y-”

“And then you have to go and open your mouth and the illusion is  _ gone.  _ Just, gone.”

“Jule-”

“Kapish?” she snapped.

He sighed. “Aye-aye, captain my captain.”

“Aye-aye, Old Scratch.”

“Ah, siblings,” Adrien said, “can’t live with ‘em don’t have any either.”

“Ooh, same!” Marinette laughed.

In the meantime, Alya had been typing and scrolling for a hot minute, Alya raised her phone to the three witches in front of her. “What about witches on TikTok cursing the moon?”

“Oh, by the goddess, no!” Mylène laughed. “Any good witch, or at least an  _ educated _ witch for that matter, knows to never dare curse a power source of all things.”

Anarka stiffened her lip, but managed to keep her sweetness. “Everyone is at a different point of their practice, darlings.” She handed out more cups of hot chocolate.

“Thank you Madame Couffaine,” Ivan said. He leaned closer, pretending to whisper to his girlfriend. “Mylène, don’t you remember just two years ago when you-”

“Enough, my lub,” Mylène snapped at him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“So, Luka likes to sing, so what do you guys like to do?” Marinette asked, pointing her attention towards Juleka and Mylène.

The two looked at each other in silent communication.

Juleka shuffled her tarot cards, focusing her intent. “What would you like to see?”

Marinette raised her brow. “I suppose an outlook on my future?”

After several minutes, she laid out her spread. “Marinette, I see great potential and very  _ good luck _ coming your way. Honestly, I could see you joining our little coven with your potential.”

Marinette paused. “What do you mean?”

Mylène took in a deep breath. “How do I say this lightly, Marinette? You are like a goddess of empowerment and confidence.”

Marinette began twitching. “What? Me? After being so clumsy and-”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Save it, we all know you’re Ladybug. There’s nothing you can hide, girl.”

Mylene continued, “Exactly. Even before you and Adrien’s identities were revealed to all of Paris, there was something special, something magical about you guys from the get-go. I remember saying it before, seemingly jokingly how you were like a goddess of sorts. It was a genuine opinion of mine that you are and I needed a way to say it, so I felt that moment was perfect.”

Juleka nodded. “Honestly, I see that too. You manage to empower everyone around you somehow without empowering yourself sometimes, and it was hurting to see. It was like you weren’t manifesting your own internal power.”

Anarka poured herself a cup of hot chocolate, the stream rising to her face. She smirked at the warming comfort. “Honestly dearie, seeing you even made me consult some fellow magicfolk across Paris to see if a person could be a power source.” Grabbing a wooden stick from the cup beside her, she began to stir in long, slow swirls. “You just walk on this deck and make even me feel a youthful spirit that I sometimes have long regained to capture once more.” She turned to them fully. “Something in my soul says this was all quite meant to be.”

Marinette blushed. “I’m just speechless. Your words of kindness are such a blessing.”

Luka coughed. “Marinette, you’ve helped everyone in this room, you’re the blessing here.”

Chloé rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dupain-Cheng, even me. I can’t tell you how mad I am at you sometimes. It feels like my rage might’ve just gotten worse when I found out you were Ladybug out of all people. You know what I thought, surely everyone does. It was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Though then I realized, I wasn’t mad at you.”

Marinette stood straighter. “You weren’t?”

“Of course not.” There was a ball growing in Chloé’s throat. “I was mad at myself.”

The room was close to silence had it not been for winds against the windows, the waves crashing against the boat, and the whirring of the electric kettle keeping the hot water warm for the hot chocolate.

“How could I betray Ladybug? Twice? Thrice? God knows how many times?” Chloé hated the thought of her mascara running, as she sniffled harder to try to ignore that fact to herself. “How many times had I praised you and thrown you away like lowly trash?”

Marinette reached out to her. “Chloé, it’s okay-”

“It’s not okay! And now I’m making this into a big scene that it doesn’t me. I’m ridiculous.” Her voice faded.  _ “Utterly ridiculous,” _ she continued in a faint whisper.

Adrien stepped in, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Chloé, you have made some of the biggest changes here and we’re  _ proud of you _ for that.”

She turned to face him directly. “You are?”

Marinette nodded. “Yes, we are. It takes a big person to admit their faults like that, and I’d say that’s a big leap in the right direction.”

Chloé smiled, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Thank you, so much, but anyway, where were we? I don’t want to take too much of you guys’ time.”

“Ah, indeed, lovelies,” Mylène said. “I specialize in crystals, bless’d be. Oftentimes, they can be used like a kind of magical battery of sorts, filled with energy from a power source. I magickally cleanse them in purified water and set them on my window sill.”

Alya tilted her head. “Do the different types and colours have different meanings?”

Mylène nodded. “Yes, indeed! One of my absolute favourites is rose quartz that can give off a loving aura. I’ll pull it out, it’s been a while since I’ve last used it.” She began digging through her bag before pulling out a pink gemstone.

“It’s so pretty!” Rose said, unable to take her eyes off of it.

“I know, it’s like you as a rock,” Juleka teased.

Rose playfully swatted at her, giggling. “Oh stop it, you.”

As the night went on, more rounds of hot cocoa were shared and passed around amongst them. It was a magical night of love and friendship, of comfort and joy, and of frost and light. The moments they shared that night was like a ray of light through the cold and dark of winter to come. Time grew on and eventually, the night ended. The winter’s first snowfall fell down upon them as they left the houseboat, entering the warmth of their parent’s cars, heading home through the Parisian streets on the first night of winter.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Of Frost and Light_ was created in dedication to the December 2020 Holiday Advent Calendar event.
> 
> [Come and join the Superior Miraculous Server on Discord!](https://discord.gg/ZWZdjYkUyC)  
> We have an active community of over one hundred members that everyone age 14-29 is able to join. There’s weekly events, games, contests, and parties and even large projects we’re in the process of, such as a Miraculous Musical!


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